Vending devices



Feb. 13, 1962 E. H. THOMPSON 3,021,030

VENDING DEVICES Filed Sept. 26, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGI L i l I4 5 msm nimllu'm INVENTom .l .l ERNEST H THOMPSON ATT'Ys BY Mi; /ey l Feb. 13, 1962 E. H. THOMPSON 3,021,030

VENDING DEVICES Filed Sept. 26, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATT'Ys INVENTOR.' ERNEST H. THO PSON Feb. 13, 1962 E. H. THOMPSON VENDING DEVICES 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 26, 1958 FIG. 5

' INVENTom ERNEST HTHO PSON ATT'Ys E. H. THOMPSON Feb. 13, 1962 VENDING DEVICES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 26, 1958 INVENTOR:

ERNEST H. THOMPSON ATT'YS United States Patent 3,021,030 VENDING DEVICES Ernest H. Thompson, Evanston, Ill., assignor to Automatic Canteen Company of America, Chicago, lll., a corporation of Delaware Fiied Sept. 26, 1958, Ser. No. 763,597 itl Claims. (Cl. 221-77) This invention relates to vending devices and, more specifically, to vending devices of the type particularly well adapted for use in coin operated vend ng machines for vending individual articles therefrom.

It is a primary object of this invention to enable a novel vending machine to be afforded wherein the article or articles to be dispensed may be displayed in a novel and expeditious manner.

Vending machines for vending or dispensing individual articles such as, for example, candy bars, sandwiches, cigarettes, and the like, have been heretofore known in the art. However, in those vend ng machines wherein a physical specimen of the type of article to be dispensed therefrom has been displayed, it has heretofore been customary to afford a permanent or semi-permanent specimen of the article for display purposes, the display article not being dispensed from the machine in the operation thereof. This, of course, has the advantage over mach'nes wherein the type of article is merely indicated by a sign or a picture, of displaying to the customer an actual specimen of the type of article to be dispensed from the machine. However, it also has the disadvantage that if the display article is kept on display for a prolonged period of time, it may change color or otherwise deteriorate to the point where it does not afford an attractive display, and it does not afford a true display of the quality and the appearance of the merchand se to be vended from the machine. disadvantage that unless the person servicing the machine changes the display article relatively often, before the article has become stale or otherwise deteriorated so that it cannot be used as one of the articles to be vended from the machine, the display artcle can never be vended from the machine and represents a complete loss of what otherwise would have been a merchandisable article. It is an important object of the present invention to overcome these disadvantages of machines heretofore known in the art.

Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel vending device whereby an actual spec'men of the article to be vended therefrom may be displayed to a prospective customer in a novel and expeditious manner.

A further object is to afford a novel vending device of the aforementioned type whereby the display article may be dispensed therefrom in a novel and expeditious manner.

In vendng machines heretofore known in the art wherein merely the type of article dispensed therefrom has been shown by a sign or by a permanent or semi-permanent Vdisplay article of the previously mentioned type, one of the disadvantages has been that the storage portion from which those particular articles were to be dispensed could be filled only with that particular type of article or else the customer could not be sure of rece ving the type of article selected by him. This has meant that if servicemen, in servicing such machines ran out of their supply of a particular type of article before the storage area for that particular type of article had been lled in a machine, a different type of article could not be used to till the remander of the storage area and, therefore, the unfilled portion of the storage area had to remain unfilled. It is another important object of the present invention to overcome this difficulty.

It is also an object of the present invention to enable In addition, such machines have the' ICC a novel vending machine to be afforded wherein types of articles to be dispensed therefrom may be mixed in the individual storage chambers thereof while still assuring the customer that the type of article he selects will be diS- pensed to him.

Yet another object of the present invention is to afford a novel vending device which is protected in a novel and expeditious manner against pilfering.

A further object of the present invent'on is to enable a novel vending machine to be afforded of the type Wherein individual articles are dispensed from individual storage shelves, and wherein the shelves and associated parts are constituted and arranged in a novel and expeditious manner to insure that proper vending of the articles will occur without permitting the customer to remove articles from the machine without a normal actuation of the vending apparatus thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel vending device wherein the parts are constituted and arranged in a novel and expeditious manner so as to insure against jamming of two or more articles in the discharge area of the device.

A further object is to insure proper t'ming of the operation of such a machine and to insure the quick and efficient discharge of articles to be vended therefrom.

Another object of the present invention is to enable a novel vending machine of the aforementioned type to be afforded wherein the parts are so constituted and arranged as to insure that the artcles selected by a customer will not be vended to the customer until he has returned the dispensing plunger, or like dispensing-control member to normal position.

Another object is to afford a novel shelf-type vending device, and to enable the shelves thereof to be rotatably mounted and actuated in a novel and expeditious manner.

Yet another object of the present invention is to enable the extent of movement of shelves dur'ng vending operations in a shelf-type vending device to be quickly and easily adjusted in a novel and expeditious manner.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanyng drawings which, by way of illustration, show the preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof, and what I now consi-der to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodyng the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the prevent invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a perspective view of a vending device or dispensing device embodyingthe principles of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a vending machine embodying vending devices of the type shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the vending device shown in FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of a portion of the vending device shown in FIG. l, showing the device mounted in the vending machine shown in FIG. 2, and with certain parts broken away to show underlying parts;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view similar to FIG. 4 and showing parts of the vending device in different positions;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view similar to FIG. 5, but showing parts of the vending device in still different positions;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a portion of a modified form of my invention showing a modified form of shelf; and

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the shelf shown in FIG. 7, showing the shelf in a different position.

A vending device 1, embodying the principles of my invention is shown in the drawings to illustrate the preferred embodiment of my invention. T he vending device 1 embodies, in general, a housing 2 having a storage area 3, a display area 4, and a discharge area 5, with a plurality of shelves 6 mounted in the housing 2 which may be successively moved from the storage area 3 through the display area 4 to the discharge area 5 and di;charge the articles outwardly from the housing 2 along a chute 7, FIG. l.

The housing 2 may be made of any suitable material such as, for example, sheet steel, and embodies two elongated upright side walls 8 and 9 disposed in parallel spaced relation to each other and closed at their top ends by a top wall 19 secured thereto by suitable means such as welding. The side walls 8 and 9 have flanges 11 and 12, respectively, projecting inwardly toward each other from the front edge portions thereof, FIG. 1. The flanges 11 and 12 extend downwardly from the top of the side walls 8 and 9, respectively, and terminate at their lower end portions in spaced relation to the bottom of the housing 2, to afford abutment means for the shelves 6 during movement of the latter through the storage area 3, as will be discussed in greater detail presently.

Each of the side walls 3 and 9 is substantially L-shaped, having a forwardly projecting lower end portion 13 and 14, respectively, disposed in downwardly spaced relation to the lower edges of the flanges 11 and 12. Two downwardly opening, upwardly and rearwardly extending slots 13a and 14a are formed in the portions 13 and 14, respectively, and a cover member 15 extends between and is secured to the front edges of the upper portion of the forwardly projecting portions 13 and 14 of the side walls 8 and 9 to afford a front wall for the housing 2, which terminates at its lower end at the upper edge of the front of the slots 13a and 14a.

The chute 7 comprises an elongated panel made of suitable material such as, for example, sheet steel, and embodying a substantially at body portion 7a having a flange 7b projecting upwardly from the front end thereof, substantially perpendicular thereto, and another flange 7c projecting downwardly from the upper edge of the flange 7b at an acute angle to the flange 7b, FIGS. 1 and 4. The chute 7 is disposed between and secured to the side walls 8 and 9, with the body portion 7a extending along the lower edges of the slots 13a and 14a, and with the flange 7c closing the space between the front edges of the portions 13 and 14 below the slots 13a and 14a and extending vertically to afford a front wall for this latter portion of the housing 2.

The flanges 11 and 12, the front wall 15, and the chute 7 are so disposed relative to each other that the storage area 3 is in horizontal alignment with the flanges 11 and 12; the display area 4 is in horizontal alignment with the space between the flanges 11 and 12 and the front wall 15; and the discharge area is disposed between the front wall 15 and the chute 7.

The sprockets 16 and 17 are mounted on a shaft 18 which extends between and is rotatably mounted in the upper end portions of the side walls 8 and 9. Two other sprockets 19 and 20 are mounted on a shaft 21 which extends between and is rotatably mounted in the side walls 8 and 9 in downwardly spaced parallel relation to the shaft 18. The sprockets 19 and 20 are disposed in radial alignment with the sprockets 16 and 17, respectively, in downwardly spaced relation thereto, and two endless chains 22 and 23 are trained over the sprockets 16 and 19, and the sprockets 17 and 20, respectively.

The shelves 6 are elongated in form, each embodying an elongated main body portion 24 having a reduced front end portion 25. The reduced front end portion 25 on the main body portion 24 of each of the shelves 6 is centered relative to the longitudinal center line of the main body portion 24 to thereby afford forwardly facing, outwardly projecting shoulders 26 and 27 on opposite sides of the front end portion 2S disposed in inwardly or rearwardly spaced relation to the front edge of the latter. The main body portion 24 of each of the shelves 6 has two flanges 28 and 29 projecting from respective longitudinal edges thereof in parallel spaced relation to each other, and in substantially perpendicular relation to the main body portion 24. The flanges 28 and 29 terminate at their front edges in rearwardly spaced relation to the shoulders 26 and 27, respectively, and each has an outwardly projecting ear 30 and 31, respectively, on the rear end portion thereof.

The shelves 6 are of such size, and the ears 30 and 31 are so disposed thereon, that the chains 22 and 23 may be disposed between the ears 30 and 31, with the ears 3i) and 31 disposed in juxtaposition to the outer faces of the chains 22 and 23, respectively. The chains 22 and 23 are identical in construction, cach embodying a plurality of pairs of elongated links 32 pivotally secured together in end to end relation by pins 33. The ears 31) and 31 of each of the shelves 6 is pivotally mounted on a respective one of the pins 33 on the chains 22 and 23, respectively, with the two pins 33 on which the ears 3f) and 31 of each respective shelf 6 are mounted being disposed in horizontal alignment with each other. As shown in the drawings, the shelves 6 are pivotally mounted on every third pin 33 on the chains 22 and 23 but, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, this is merely by way of illustration and not by way of limitation, and the spacing 0f the shelves 6 on the chains 22 and 23 may be changed without departing from the purview of my invention.

A drive wheel 34 in the form of a flat plate, is rotatably mounted on a shaft 35 which is secured to and projects outwardly from the side wall 9 in downwardly spaced, parallel relation to the shaft 21. Two pawls 36 and 37 are pivotally mounted on the outer face of the drive wheel 34 by pins 38 and 39, respectively. The pawls 36 and 37 have upper end portions 40 and 41, respectively, and are normally disposed on the wheel 34 in such position that the end portions 40 and 41 project outwardly past the peripheral edge of the wheel 34. rfwo tension coil springs 42 and 43 are connected at one end to the pawls 36 and 37, respectively, and are connected at their other ends to the Wheel 34 by pins 44 and 45. The springs 42 and 43 are so disposed on the wheel 34 that they yieldingly urge the pawls 36 and 37 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4. Each of the pawls 36 and 37 has an inwardly projecting nger 46 and 47, respectively, and two pins 48 are mounted on the wheel 34 in position to engage the respective fingers 46 and 47 to thereby prevent counterclockwise rotation of the pawls 36 and 37 when the latter are disposed in their aforementioned normal position.

A driven wheel 49 in the form of a plate is secured to the outer end of the shaft 21, outwardly of the side wall 9, and is effective upon rotation to rotate the shaft 21 and, therefore, the sprockets 19 and Zt to thereby rotate the chains 22 and 23. The wheel 49 has a plurality of pins 50a, 50b, 50c, Stld, 56e and 59j mounted on and projecting outwardly from the outer face of the wheel 49, FIG. 4, the pins 50a-f being equally spaced on a circle around the shaft 21 and inwardly from the outer peripheral edge of the wheel 49.

The Wheels 49 and 34 are so positioned relative to each other that, when the wheels 34 and 49 are disposed in normal, at-rest position, two of the pins 50a and 'tlb are disposed closely adjacen-t to the outer peripheral edge of the wheel 34 to the right of the pawls 36 and 37, as shown in FIG. 4. The pin 50a is disposed in the path of travel of the pawls 36 and 37 when the wheel 34 is rotated in a clockwise direction from the position shown in FIG. 4. Two notches or grooves 51a and 51h are formed in the outer periphery of the wheel 34 to the right of the pawls 36 and 37, respectively, as viewed in FIG. 4, and two notches or grooves 52a and 52h are formed in the outer periphery of the Wheel 34 to the left of the pawls 36 and 37, respectively. The notches 51a and 52a are of such size and are so positioned on the wheel 34 that when the wheel 34 is rotated in a clockwise direction from the position shown in FIG. 4 to the position shown in FIG. 5, and the pawl 36 is moved into abutting engagement with the pin 50a to thereby rotate the driven wheel 49 in a counter-clockwise direction, the pin 50a, during this rotation, moves downwardly into the the notch 51a as shown in FIG. 5. Continued rotation of the pawl 36 with the wheel 34 is effective through the movement of the pin Sila by the pawl 36, to rotate the wheel into position wherein the next following pin 5W moves downwardly into the notch 52a. Thereafter, continued rotation of the wheel 34 is effective, through the engagement of the pin Silf in the notch 52a, to continue the counter-clockwise rotation of the driven wheel 49. As the wheel 34 continues to rotate in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4, the engagement of the pin Stf in the notch 52a is effective to continue to cause the wheel 49 to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction until the last mentioned pin 50f moves upwardly out of the notch 52a, as shown in FIG. 6. During this clockwise rotation of the wheel 34, it will be seen that the wheel 49 has been rotated an angular distance equal to the distance between two pins 5t), so that another pin 50e has been moved into closely adjacent relation to the outer periphery of the wheel 34, FIG. 6, into the position that the pin 50a engaged by the pawl 36 in the last cycle of operation originally occupied, so that the wheel 49 is disposed in position for the start of another cycle of operation.

The outer end of the pawl 36 is beveled and slopes inwardly to the left as viewed in FIGS. 4-6, whereby the wheel 34 may be rotated in a counter-clockwise direction from its fully actuated position as shown in FIG. 6 to its normal at-rest position as shown in FIG. 4, without moving the wheel 49, the pawl 36 being permitted by the spring 42 to pivot in a clockwise direction around the pin 38, to thereby permit the pawl 36 to ride under the pins Sile and 56j during the reverse rotation of the wheel 34, the pin 56e being disposed in position to be engaged by the pawl 36 during the next clockwise rotation of the wheel 34. Each such clockwise rotation of the driving wheel 34 from the position shown in FIG. 4 to the position shown in FIG. 6 is effective to rotate the driven wheel 49 and, therefore, the chains 22 and 23 in a counter-clockwise direction a distance sufficient to move one of the shelves 6 from the display area 4 to the discharge area 5, and to move another shelf 6 from the storage arca 3 into the display area 4, as will be discussed in greater detail presently.

The pawl 37 and the notch 52h are not used to rotate the wheel 49 during a cycle of operation such as that just described, wherein the shelves 6 are so spaced on the chains 22 `and 23 that the wheel 49 need only be advanced the distance of two of the pins 50a-f during a cycle of operation. However, it will be seen that with the pawl 37 and the notches 51h and 52b embodied in my machine, the operation of my machine may be readily selectively adjusted to advance the wheel 49 the distance of either three or four pins Sila-f, if this is desired.

Thus, for example, if it should be desired to have the wheel 49 advance the distance of three pins 50u41, this may be readily accomplished by rotating the wheel 34 a sufficient distance in each cycle of operation to cause the pawl 37 to engage the third pin 50a-f `and advance it one position. Thus, for example, in the cycle of operation just described, the pawl 37 would have engaged the pin Sile and advanced it to the position which was 6 occupied by the pin 50f, FIG. 6, `at the close of the just discussed operation.

If it were desired to have the wheel 49 advance an additional pin 50a-f, or, in other words, a total of four pins Sha-f, during the last cycle of operation, the rotation of the wheel 34 could have been continued to the point where the next succeeding pin, namely, pin 50d, had been moved to at-rest position by the notch 52b in the same manner that the pin Silf had previously been moved by the notch 52a.

A plunger 53 is slidably mounted in, and extends through the front wall 15 of the housing 2, and an elongated slide 54 has a front end portion 55 attached to the rear end portion of the plunger 53, FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. A pin 56 is mounted on the 'rear end portion `of the slide 54, FIG. 4, and is slidably mounted in an elongated slot 57, 'which extends horizontally in the side wall 9, to thereby slidably support the slide 54 for horizontal movement forwardly and rearwardly with the plunger 53 relative to the housing 2. Another pin 58 is threadedly mounted in the slide 54 and projects outwardly from the outer face thereof through a radially extending, outwardly opening slot 59 in the drive wheel 34. The pin 58 is so disposed on the slide 54, and in the slot 59, that when the plunger 53 is moved from its normal position, as shown in FIG. 4, forwardly to fully actuated position whereby the slide 54 is moved from the position shown in FIG. 4 to the position shown in FIG. 6, the slide 54, through its connection with the wheel 34 is effective to rotate the latter from its normal position shown in FIG. 4 to the fully actuated position thereof shown in FIG. 6. The position of the pin 5S on the slide 54 and, therefore, the extent of movement of the wheel 34, may be readily adjusted by moving the pin 58 from one threaded opening 58:1 to the other on the slide 54.

A relatively large notch or opening 60 is formed in the lower edge portion of the slide 54 in forwardly spaced relation to the rear end thereof, FIGS. 4-6. A plurality of smaller notches are formed in the lower edge portion of the slide 54 between the notch 60 and the rear end of the slide 54 to afford teeth 61 therealong. A pawl 62 is pivotally mounted on a pin 63 on the outer face of the wall 9 below the slide 54, the pawl 62 having hte linger 64 thereon which normally projects upwardly into the notch 60 as shown in FIG. 4. A tension coil spring 65 is connected at one end to the pawl 62 and at another end to a pin 66 mounted on the wall 9, the spring 65 being connected to the pawl 62 in such position as toyieldingly urge the pawl 62 to assume the position lshown in FIG. 4.

As the slide 54 moves forwardly, or to the left as viewed in FIG. 4, the pawl 62 is engaged by the rear edge of the recess 66 and is pivoted thereby in a counter-clockwise direction into the position shown in FIG. 5, so that during continued movement of the slide 54, the finger 64 Slides over the teeth 61, but is disposed in position to engage the teeth 6l. so as to prevent rearward movement of the slide 54. As the slide 54 moves into its full forward position, as shown in FIG. 6, the finger 64 on the pawl 62 clears the rear end of the slide 54 and is pivoted by the spring 65 upwardly behind the rear end of the slide 54. Hence, when the slide 54 is moved from fully actuated position, shown in FIG. 6, to normal position, shown in FIG. 4, the pawl 62 is pivoted in a clockwise direction by the slide 54 from the position shown 1n FIG. 6 into position wherein during the inward or reverse movement of the slide 54, the finger 64 is permitted to slide over the teeth or notches 61, and is effective to prevent outward movement of the slide 56 until the inward stroke is cornpleted. At the end of the inward stroke, the pawl 62 rides into alignment with the notch 66 and is again rotated by the spring 65 into normal position as shown in FIG. 4. It will be seen that the pawl 62 and the teeth 61 afford mechanism whereby it is assured that the slide 54 will be moved through a complete reciprocation before it may be moved back to normal position.

A pin 67 extends between and is mounted in the side walls 8 and 9 of the housing 2 forwardly and above the normal position of the slide 54, FIGS. 3 and 4. The pin 67 projects outwardly from the side wall 9, and a plate 63 is pivotally mounted thereon in depending relation thereto. A substantially T-shaped slot 69 is formed in the plate 68, the slot having two arms 70 and 71 interconnected at their inner ends to one end of another arm 72. A pin 73 is mounted in and projects outwardly from the outer face of the front end portion of the slide 54, and normally is disposed in the arm 73 of the slot 69. The plate 68 is connected to one end of a sleeve 74 which is rotatably mounted on the pin 67, so that the plate 68 is rotatable with the sleeve 74 around the pin 67.

During forward movement of the slide 54 from normal position shown in FIG. 4 through a cycle of operation, the pin 73 rst moves forwardly through the arm 71 of the slot 69 into the arm 7). The arm 70 is disposed at a forwardly and upwardly projecting angle so that continued forward movement of the slide 54 causes the plate 68 to be pivoted around the pin 67 in a clockwise direction into the position shown in FIG. 5. During continued forward movement of the slide 54, the pin 73 moves from the arm 70 of the slot 69 into the arm 72 and causes the plate 68 to be rotated still further around the pin 67 into the position shown in FIG. 6.

A substantially T-shaped plate 75 having a convex outwardly rounded head 76, and an elongated shank 77, is mounted on and attached to the sleeve 74 for rotation therewith, FIGS. 3-6. The head 76 is normally disposed in substantially vertically extending, closely underlying relation to the upper edge portion of the front wall of the housing 2, FIG. 4, with the shank 77 projecting rearwardly therefrom in a substantially horizontal direction. During a full forward stroke of the slide 54, wherein the plate 68 is pivoted from the position shown in FIG. 4 to the position shown in FIG. 6, the sleeve 74 is rotated around the pin 67 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4 through a turn of substantially ninety degrees. Hence, it will be seen that the plate 75 is also turned ninety degrees, so that the head 76 is disposed in substantially horizontally extending relation from closely adjacent the upper edge of the front wall 15, and the shank 77 is disposed in substantially vertically extending relation, when the slide 54 is disposed in full forward position, FIG. 6. rl`he plate 75 cooperates with the shelves 6 in such a manner as to insure against pilfering from the machine 1, and also so as to insure proper timing of the discharge of articles from the device 1, as will be discussed in greater detail presently.

An elongated plate or auxiliary chute 78 is pivotally mounted in the housing 2 between the side walls 8 and 9, and is normally disposed in substantially upright position as shown in FIG. 4. The auxiliary chute 78 is substantially S-shaped, having an elongated intermediate body portion 79, an upper lip 80 normally projecting rearwardly at an acute angle from the upper end of the body portion 79, and a lower lip 81 normally projecting forwardly at an acute angle from the lower end of the body portion 79, FIG. 4. Two ears 82 and 83 project upwardly from opposite ends of the lip 80, in parallel relation to each other, and are disposed in closely adjacent relation to the inner faces of the walls 8 and 9, respectively. Two pins 84 and 85 extend through the lips 82 and 83 and are mounted in the walls 8 and 9, respectively, to thereby pivotally mount the auxiliary chute 78 relative the walls 8 and 9. Another pin 86 is mounted in and carried by the ear 83 and projects outwardly through an enlarged opening 87 in the side wall 9, into an arcuate-shaped cam slot 88 formed in the drive wheel 34. The cam slot 88 is of such configuration that early in the forward stroke of the slide 54, wherein the drive wheel 34 is rotated in a clockwise direction, it is effective to swing the auxiliary chute 78 from its normal position shown in FIG. 4 to a forwardly projecting position shown in FIG. 5, wherein the lower lip 81 is disposed in vertically underlying relation to the free end of the shank 77 of the plate 75. During the remainder of the forward stroke of the slide 54, the pin 86 is held in such position by the cam slot 88 that the auxiliary chute is held in this forward projecting position as is shown in FIG. 6. The auxiliary chute 78, and the movement thereof during an operation of my novel device 1, also assists in insuring that proper timing of the discharge of articles from the device 1 is afforded, as will be discussed in greater detail presently.

The chains 22 and 23 are so mounted in the housing 2, and the shelves 6 are so mounted on the chains 22 and 23, that during rotation of the chains 22 and 23 around the sprocket wheels 16 and 19, and 17 and 20, respectively, the shelves 6 on the rear course 89a of the chains 22 and 23 are disposed in substantially vertically extending depending relation thereto, and may move upwardly therewith in such position. As the shelves 6 move over the sprocket wheels 16 and 17 from the rear course 89a of the chains 22 and 23 to the front courses 89h thereof, they swing forwardly by gravity relative to the chains 22 and 23. The shelves 6 are of such size that during this forward swinging movement of the shelves 6, the shoulders 26 and 27 thereon engage the flanges 11 and 12 on the side walls 8 and 9 of the housing 2, respectively, in position to hold the shelves 6 in upwardly and forwardly projecting position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. It will be remembered that the flanges 11 and 12 extend downwardly the length of the storage area 3 and, therefore, it will be seen that the shelves 6 are held in this forwardly and upwardly projecting position by the flanges 11 and 12 during the entire movement of the shelves 6 through the storage area 3.

In each cycle of operation of the vending device 1, during which the chains 22 and 23 are rotated a predetermined amount, as previously discussed, one of the shelves 6 in the storage area 3 rides downwardly out of engagement with the flanges 11 and 12, and is thereby freed from holding engagement therewith, so that it is free to swing downwardly around its pivotal connections with the chains 22 and 23. The plate 75 is normally disposed in such position that, as shown in FIG. 4, when one of the shelves 6 swings downwardly from the storage area 3, the lower end of the shelf 6 engages the upper face of the shank 77 of the plate 75, to thereby hold the shelf 6 in downwardly and forwardly inclined position in the display area 4, FIGS. 1 and 4.

rl`hus, it will be seen that with the parts of the device 1 disposed in normal, at-rest position, one of the shelves 6 is disposed in downwardly and forwardly projecting position in the display area 4, wherein articles mounted on that shelf are readily visible from the front of the display area 4, which is open. At the same time, other of the shelves which are immediately following the shelf 6 disposed in the display area 4, are disposed in articlesupporting position in the storage area 3, which is also open from the front so that these shelves may be readily charged with articles by a serviceman, or the like. The remainder of the shelves 6 are disposed on the chains 22 and 23 rearwardly of the storage area 3 and the display area 4, in position to be moved toward the storage area 3 during succeeding cycles of operation of the device 1.

In the operation of my novel vending device 1, when the parts thereof are disposed in normal, at-rest position as shown in FIG. 4, and the plunger 53 is pulled forwardly to thereby move the slide 54 through a forward stroke, the drive wheel 34 is rotated in a clockwise direction to thereby move the driven wheel 49 in a counterclockwise direction a distance suicient to advance it the distance of two of the pins 50a-f. At the same time, the plate is rotated in a clockwise direction to a position whereby the shelf 6 which was originally disposed in display position in the device 1, is free to move rearwardly with the chains 22 and 23 in the housing 2. During this movement of the plate 77, the auxiliary chute 78 is pivoted forwardly into the position shown in FIG. to thereby closely underlie the plate 75 and prevent the article on the shelf 6, moving from display position, from falling downwardly into the discharge chute 7. In the meantime, the head 76 of the plate 75 is swinging rearwardly from the upper edge portion of the front wall of the housing 2 into position to engage the next succeeding shelf 6 which, at the same time, is moving downwardly from the storage area 3 toward display position in the display area 4.

At the completion of the forward stroke of the slide 54, the shelf 6 which was originally disposed in display position in the device 1, is disposed in abutting engagement with the auxiliary chute 78, which is disposed in the aforementioned forwardly projecting position as shown in FIG. 6. At this same time, the next succeeding shelf 6 has swung downwardly into engagement with the outer face of the head 76 of the plate 75 and is held thereby in display position in the housing 2.

During reverse or inward movement of the slide 54, the auxiliary chute 78 is swung in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS. 4-6, around the pins 84 and 85, into its normal position wherein the lip 81 is disposed in juxtaposition to the upper end of the chute 7, to thereby permit the article on the shelf 6 which has leen advanced from display position to discharge position to slide downwardly along the auxiliary chute 78 and the discharge chute 7 into position wherein it may be withdrawn from the discharge area 5. At this time, the shelf 6 which has been moved from display position to discharge position is disposed in depending relation to the chains 22 and 23, with the lower or front edge portion of the reduced front end portion 25 thereof disposed in abutting engagement with the upper edge portion of the lip 80, FIG. 4.

During this reverse movement of the slide 54, the plate 75 is pivoted from the position shown in FIG. 6 in a counter-clockwise direction back to its normal position as shown in FIG. 4, in which latter position the shank 77 is disposed in underlying supporting relation to the shelf 6 which has been advanced from the storage area 3 into the display area 4, so that the latter shelf 6 is now disposed in display position in the display area 4.

The auxiliary chute 7S is of such size, and is so positioned in the housing 2, that during the next cycle of operation, the shelf 6 which has been moved from display position into discharge position, may move upwardly past the upper edge of the lip Si), the reduced end portion 25 swinging inwardly between the ears 82 and 83 on the auxiliary shelf '78.

It will be seen that when my novel vending device 1 is v disposed in normal position as shown in FIG. 4, the shelf 6, which is disposed in display position, rests on the plate 75 in such position as to insure that the article disposed on this shelf may not be pilfered from the machine, this shelf 6 and the plate 75 also afford an effective obstruction against pilfering from the storage area 3. At the same time, the shelf 6 which has just moved from display position into discharge position rests against the upper edge of auxiliary chute 78 in such position as to prevent access to the interior of the device rearwardly of the shelf then disposed in display position. The auxiliary chute 78 is held against rotation from its normal position by the engagement of the pin 86 in the cam slot 88. Hence, it will be seen that the parts of my novel vending device 1 are so constituted and arranged as to effectively prevent pilfering from the device.

Also, it will be seen that the plate 75 and the auxiliary chute 78 are so constituted and arranged that in the operation of the device 1, the article on the shelf 6 being moved from display position to discharge position, may not be discharged from the device 1 until the slide 54 has been moved through a reciprocation, and is again back in normal position. r1`his insures that the customer will complete the stroke of the plunger 53, and thereby re-set the machine for the next cycle of operation.

In addition, it will be seen that the operation of the plate 75 and the chute 78 is such as to be effective to insure that the next succeeding shelf 6 moving from the supply area 3 to the display area 4 may not swing into position to discharge its article from the device 1, or to jam the discharge of the article being vended from the shelf 6 from the display area.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that my novel vending device 1 is well adapted for embodiment in vending machines such as, for example, the vending machine 89 shown in general in FIG. 2. The vending machine 89 shown in FIG. 2 embodies, in general, a housing 9i) having a front door 91 hingedly mounted on one vertical front edge thereof for horizontal swinging movement. The housing 9i) shown in FIG. 2 is of such size that it may receive six of the vending devices 1 disposed in side by side relation thereto, with the front walls 15 thereof projecting outwardly from the lower end portion of the housing 9i) in position to afford the front wall for that portion of the housing 90. The housing 90 is of such height and depth that it may relatively snugly but freely receive the housing 2 of my novel vending device 1, and the door 91 preferably has an opaque upper end portion 92 which is of such size that it will completely cover the supply area 3 of the vending device 1 when the latter is mounted in the housing 90 and the door 91 is disposed in closed position. The door 91 may embody a window 93, which extends across the display areas 4 of the vending devices 1 when the latter are disposed in the housing 90 and the door 91 is disposed in closed position. The window 93 is curved outwardly, FIGS. 2 and 4, so as to permit the downward and forward swinging movement of the shelves 6 from stored position in the storage area 3 to display position in the display area 4, the lower edge poru tion of the window 93 preferably terminating in closely adjacent position to the upper edge portion of the front wall 5 of the vending devices 1 when the door 91 is disposed in closed position, FIG. 4Q

The door 91 may have a suitable lock, not shown, thereon to retain the door in closed position on the housing 90 against unauthorized access to the machine 89. With the door 91 disposed in closed position on the housing 9i), and with the vending devices I disposed in the aforementioned operative position in the housing 9d, it will be seen that the machine 89 affords a vending machine for a plurality of articles which may be successively moved from stored position into display position and then into discharge position, each article that is to be discharged from the machine S9 being disposed in display position so that the customer operating the machine 89 receives the actual article which he selected through the window 93. If desired, of course, a suitable coin controlmechanism may beembodied in the machine 89. However, such control mechanism forms no part of my present novel invention.

In FIGS. 7 and 8 a modified form of my invention is shown wherein shelves 94 are supported by a single chain rather than the two chains 22 and 23, by which the shelves 6 are supported in the form of my invention shown in FIGS. 1-6. Parts shown in FIG. 7, which are the same as parts shown in FIGS. 1-6, are indicated by the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 1-6.

The shelves 94 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 are of the same construction as the shelves 6 shown in FIGS. 1-6, except that the ears 30 and 31 have been eliminated and a single mounting bracket 95 is so disposed on one end of the shelf 94 that it projects upwardly and rearwardly from the shelf 94 when the shelf is disposed in normal article-holding position as shown in FIG. 8. A sprocket chain 96 extends through each of the brackets 95, and each of the shelves 94 is pivotally connected to the chain 96 by a pin 97 which extends through the bracket 95 and the chain 96.

The shelves 94 are so disposed on the chain 96 that 11 when they are disposed in position on the rear pass 89a of the chain 96, as shown in FIG. 7, they are Suspended therefrom in longitudinally depending relation, with the rear pass 89a of the chain 96 disposed forwardly of the shelves in parallel relation to the longitudinal center line of the latter.

The chain 96 is trained over an upper sprocket wheel 98, FIG. 8, and a lower sprocket wheel 99, FIG. 7. The sprocket wheels 98 and 99 may be rotatably mounted on the shafts 18 and 21, respectively, in centered position longitudinally thereof.

As the shelves 94 move upwardly with the rear pass 89a of the chain 96 and move over the top of the sprocket wheel 98, they swing forwardly and downwardly into position, as shown in FIG. 8, wherein the front end portions thereof are engaged by the flanges 11 and 12 of the housing 2, similarly to the movement of the shelves 6, as previously described.

It will be seen that the operation of the modified form of my invention is the same as the operation of the form of my invention shown in FIGS. 1-6 except that the shelves 94 thereof are mounted on only a single chain 96 rather than two chains.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have afforded a novel vending device which is particularly well adapted for use in vending machines, and the like, and wherein the actual article selected by a customer is vended to the customer in a novel and expeditious manner.

Thus, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this is capable of variation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall Within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

l. A vending device for vending individual articles comprising a housing having a storage area in the upper portion thereof, a discharge outlet in the lower portion thereof, and a display area between said storage area and said discharge outlet, a plurality of shelves movably mounted in said housing, an abutment member movably mounted in said housing, said abutment member normally being disposed in supporting engagement with one of said shelves to hold the latter in said display area, and means, including a slide operably connected to said abutment member and reciprocable through a predetermined path of travel in said housing, for moving said abutment member to free said one shelf for movement to said discharge outlet, move said one shelf to said discharge outlet, move another shelf from said storage area to said display area, and move said abutment member into supporting position with said other shelf in said display area.

2. A vending device for vending individual articles comprising a housing having a storage area in the upper portion thereof, a discharge outlet in the lower portion thereof, and a display area between said storage area and said discharge outlet, a plurality of shelves movably mounted in said housing, an abutment member movably mounted in said housing, said abutment member normally being disposed in supporting engagement with one of said shelves to hold the latter in said display area, and means, including a drive wheel oscillatable through a predetermined path of travel, for moving said one shelf from said display area to said discharge outlet and simultaneously moving another of said shelves from said storage area to said display area, said means including means movable with said drive wheel for moving said abutment member out of said supporting engagement with said one shelf and into supporting engagement with said other shelf during said oscillation of said drive wheel.

3. A vending device for dispensing articles comprising a housing having a storage area and a discharge area, rotatable drive means, including a driven wheel, rotatably mounted in said housing, a plurality of shelves mounted in said housing for supporting such articles in said storage area and discharging said articles into said discharge area, said shelves being operatively connected to said drive means and movable therewith from said storage area to said discharge area upon rotation of said driven wheel, and means for so rotating said driven wheel, said last named means comprising a drive wheel rotatably mounted on said housing and having an axis of rotation parallel to the axis of rotation of said driven wheel, said drive wheel being oscillatable through a path of movement with said drive wheel being drivingly engaged with said driven wheel during rotation of the drive wheel in one direction, said driven wheel having pins thereon, said drive wheel having pawls thereon operatively engageable with said pins to rotate said driven wheel when said driving wheel is rotating in said one direction in its said path of travel, said drive wheel having a normal at-rest position and being so disposed relative to said driven wheel that when said drive wheel is disposed in said normal position the periphery thereof is disposed in position to operatively engage said pins and prevent rotation of said driven wheel, and means connected to said drive wheel for so oscillating the latter.

4. A vending device as dened in claim 3, and in which said driving wheel has outwardly opening recesses formed therein adjacent to said pawls, and in which said drive wheel and said driven wheel are so disposed relative to each other that said pins engaged by said pawls move into and out of said recesses during said rotation of said drive wheel along said path of travel in said one direction.

5. A vending device as defined in claim 4, and in which said pawls are pivotally mounted on said drive wheel and are pivotable inwardly relative thereto during movement of said drive wheel in the other direction during the oscillation thereof whereby said pawls may pass said pins on said driven wheel without rotating the latter during said last mentioned rotation of said drive wheel.

6. A vending device for dispensing articles comprising a housing having a storage area, a display area, and a discharge chute, and means for storing a supply of said articles in said storage area, supporting one of said articles in display position in said display area, and successively moving each of said articles from said storage area through said display area and discharging said article onto said discharge chute, said means comprising supporting means rotatably mounted in said housing, a plurality of shelves mounted on said supporting means and movable therewith from said storage area, through said display area, past said discharge chute and back to said storage area upon rotation of said supporting means, an abutment member in said housing normally disposed in supporting engagement with one of said shelves in position to hold said one shelf in said display area in upwardly spaced relation to said discharge chute, said abutment member being rotatable out of said normal position into position to release said one shelf for movement to said discharge chute while retaining said abutment member in position to supportingly engage the next shelf upon movement thereof from said storage area to said display area, an auxiliary chute movable between a normal position, wherein said auxiliary chute forms an extension for said discharge for feeding such articles from said shelves onto said discharge chute, and an actuated position wherein said auxiliary chute is disposed in underlying supporting engagement with said shelf moving from said display area to said discharge chute in position to prevent discharge of an article from said one shelf, and means for simultaneously rotating said supporting means, oscillating said abutment member between said normal position and releasing position thereof, and moving said auxiliary chute from said normal position thereof to said actuated position thereof and back to said normal position thereof.

7. A vending device as defined in claim 6, and in which said supporting means includes two chains rotatably mounted in said housing, and in which said shelves are pivotally mounted on said chains.

8. A vending device as defined in claim 6, and in which said abutment member comprises a substantially T-shaped member having a head and an elongated shank, and in which said shank is normally disposed in engagement with said one shelf, and in which said head is disposed in position to engage said next shelf when the latter shelf moves from said storage area to said display area, and in which said means for simultaneously moving said supporting means, said abutment member and said auxiliary chute comprises a drive wheel, a slide connected to said drive wheel for oscillating the latter, said slide being connected to said abutment member for oscillating the same upon reciprocation of said slide, a pin on said auxiliary chute, and cam means in said drive Wheel operatively engaged with said pin for oscillating said chute during said oscillation of said drive wheel.

9. A vending device as defined in claim 6 and in which said shelves are elongated members, and in which said supporting means includes a single chain pivotally attached to one end of said shelves on the longitudinal center lines of the latter.

10. A vending device for vending individual articles comprising a housing having a storage area in the upper front portion thereof, a discharge outlet in the lower front portion thereof, and a display area in said front portion between said storage area and said discharge outlet, a plurality of shelves having front and rear end portion, rotatable means pivotally connected to said rear end portions of said shelves for moving said shelves through an endless path from said storage area through said display area to said discharge outlet, and back to said storage area, said housing being engaged with said front end portions of said shelves in said storage area to hold said last mentioned shelves in forwardly and upwardly inclined position in said storage area, engaging means in said housing in position to engage the front end portions of said shelves in said display area in position to hold said last mentioned shelves inforwardly and downwardly inclined position in said display area, and means for rotating said rotatable means for so rotatng all of said shelves and simultaneously disengaging said engaging means from said shelves.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,212,662 Meyers Jan. 16, 1917 1,260,578 Ravert Mar. 26, 1918 1,578,986 `Graves Mar. 30, 1926 1,821,501 Du Grenier Sept. 1, 1931 1,940,005 McKee Dec. 19, 1933 2,376,137 Hallowell May l5, 1945 2,545,763 Burns Mar. 20, 1951 2,687,825 Galin et al. Aug. 31, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 25,578 Denmark Feb. 16, 1920 442,407 Great Britain Feb. 7, 1936 488,731 Canada Dec. 9, 1952 

